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Nel Bernard's Stained Glass

Harvest Gold Gallery welcomes a new artist, Nel Bernard. He makes beautiful stained glass pieces. Here is a small description of him and his work:

Nel was first exposed to stained glass as a craft at Lewiston’s Craftschool in 1974 as a student of Thom Labrie, and later with Michel Ellen Luisi, until assuming the position of instructor at Craftschool in 1978 through 1980. In that same year, he opened his first studio, Magnum Opus Studio Gallery at the head of Lisbon Street, Lewiston in partnership with renovators and photographers. The valuable experience gained at Magnum Opus enabled Mr. Bernard to open and operate Maine Art Glass Studio in Lewiston continuously from 1982 through March 2010. Through the years, Nel continued to learn new techniques and styles by associating with hundreds of local artists, reading, studying and experimenting and attending workshops at the Corning Studios in New York, the Portland School of Art and college courses through the University of Maine.

Nel Bernard continues to experiment and innovate to learn and share new techniques and approaches with his associates and students. A risk taker and a cancer survivor, Nel challenges himself and others to push the envelope and try new ways of expressing one’s self through art. His greatest ambition is to help create and participate in an active and healthy art and social community, in touch with the ideas of the new creative economy.

Here is his work at the gallery! 

 

Come see his work at Harvest Gold Gallery!

Artist Feature: Bill Housley

Artist Feature: Bill Housley

Bill Housley is one of the artisans featured in the gallery. He works with wood and produces beautiful and functional bowls, lidded boxes, salt and pepper grinders, and toothpick holders.

 

Bill was previously a cosmetic dentist but switched to carving wood instead of teeth. He has stated that, “it is just another form of arts and crafts!” Although he has worked with wood for decades, Bill only began turning wood after his retirement from dentistry.

 

What sets Bill’s work apart is that he uses a Rose Engine. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Rose Engines were used by the European elite to turn out intricate wooden figurines and such. Wood turning was an all-but forgotten craft but, recently, Rose Engine lathes were produced for the first time since the nineteenth century at a much lower cost. Bill Housely is the proud owner of engine 38, the only one in the state of Maine.

 

The Rose Engine allows for detailed designs that a typical lathe is not able to produce. It has special components that, while the block of wood is spinning, can move in and out, up and down, and side to side. The results of Bill’s vision and the complex and unique machine he uses can be seen in his stunning work. To see more of his work, visit his page on our website, here.

Meet the Artist: Sandra J. Bell

     
         Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Bell first unfolded her canvas-seated artist’s stool at the age of five while attending classes provided by the Cleveland Museum of Art. Throughout her years of college and formal art school, Bell became interested in 20th century Americana. She involved herself in architectural and antique preservation, home restoration, and so much more. Travelling all around America provided Bell the opportunity to form a unique world view, and lead to her desire to paint whatever off-the-beaten-track subject matter caught her fancy.

            As a resident of Center Lovell, Bell likes to keep her subject matter local but relatively unknown. Her painting process begins with a trek across New England, scoping out interesting scenes via hiking, kayaking, or driving. Next comes photography, with Bell covering many different angles and views, sometimes returning to the same spot at different times throughout the day to see how the lighting changes. Bell then returns to her studio in Lovell and to start the sketching and painting process!

            Working mainly in oils, Bell is well known for her painterly style and masterful use of color. She captures the purples and blues in snow, the pinks and oranges that can reflect on a pond from the autumn trees, and so much more! Her subject matter covers a mix of interesting still-lifes (cars and toys and animals, oh my!) and local landscapes.